“I haven’t been everywhere yet, but it’s on my list.” -Susan Sontag

Over the past seven years, I’ve been traveling to everywhere: all 193 countries, and plenty of other places along the way.

The journey has been even more amazing than I expected. Over the next couple of months I’ll be on book tour in the U.S. and Canada, and I’m actually glad to be taking a break from seeing the world… because I’m not ready for it to end.

After trips earlier this year to Sudan, Turkmenistan, and the South Pacific, there are now only 8 countries left! Here’s the list:

Guinea Bissau
Sao Tome
Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
Seychelles
Yemen
Tuvalu
Kiribati
Norway

The book tour will keep me on familiar ground for a while, but at the end of July I’ll be heading back out to visit these final countries. Next April we’ll be in Norway for the big finale—if you’d like to come along, put your name on this list. (Note: at this point we have no idea what’s happening or how we’ll manage it, but there WILL be a big party.)

***

I was going to write a long post explaining how to visit anywhere in the world. For example, here’s how you fly to such-and-such a place. Here’s how you get a visa. Don’t get the visa? Whatever. The worst thing that can happen is you get thrown in jail and never get out. (But this is unlikely.)

Maybe I’ll still do that, but for now, I think a few things are more important. At the top of the list is mentality, and the simple decision to take action. Here’s a common theme from would-be travelers that regularly arrives in my Inbox with many variations:

“Where should I start?”

And here’s a good answer for almost all the variations:

“Does it matter?”

You can continue this theme for related questions.

“What should I pack?”

Well, there are plenty of lists out there, but you could also say:

“Who cares? The less, the better.”

It even works well for troubleshooting:

“What if something goes wrong?”

It will probably be fine, but even if it isn’t:

“You’ll figure it out.”

***

We often feel paralyzed by choice and make no choice. But the thing is, no choice is a choice. If you’re not doing something about it, you’re doing something about it.

So if you too want to travel and you’re trying to make a choice, just choose. If you want to go somewhere, what’s stopping you? That’s right, nothing.

Everywhere you look, people are breaking down barriers. Married couples, people from different ethnic backgrounds, solo female travelers, seniors, and anyone you can think of—even people like you.

Stephanie Dodaro is walking 800 miles through California right now. The Vogel family cycled from Alaska to Argentina.

Steve Kamb recently exercised all over the world, using Frequent Flyer miles to travel for almost free. Stephanie Zito has been to more than 100 countries, many of them on her own.

So it seems it is possible, at least for most of us who are able to read this. Here are a few options.

Want to Serve?

Great. Start by reading up on ReliefWeb. Consider a trip with Habitat or a similar organization.

For a more in-depth commitment, apply to teach English for a year (host organizations will often cover your costs and pay a small stipend). Apply for the Peace Corps or similar opportunity in your own country.

Want to Learn?

Join the Semester at Sea. Study abroad. Apply for a Fulbright (U.S. citizens use them to study abroad, non-U.S. citizens use them to study or teach in the U.S.).

Of course, you can also learn on your own. Take a pilgrimage, a sabbatical, an escape-my-life, whatever you need to do.

Just Want to Travel?

That’s fine too. So hit the road! It’s not that complicated. Throw a dart at the map if you must.

You really can go everywhere—or at least, you can go anywhere.

How about you—where are you going next? Feel free to tell us here.

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Today is the final day of The $100 Startup mega-sale. Pre-order 3 or more books and receive… everything. Next week, our friends at Only72.com will be having a different sale that also benefits the upcoming book launch.

Image: Joe

The UPS guy dropped off a big box the other day, and for once it wasn’t an Amazon Prime shipment of cat food and paper towels.

This time it was the early shipment of my first advance copies of The $100 Startup!

Short Version:

1. You can now sign up for your choice of 22 initial cities on the tour. Tickets are free! Come on out and say hi.

2. I’m giving away 100 free books to people who will help with the book launch in May. Want one? Just leave a comment.

***

The Tour

As mentioned here, I’m really looking forward to going back on the road to meet readers on the second Unconventional Book Tour. The events are essentially a series of informal meetups, where I talk for about 20 minutes and the rest of the night is attendee-led. (There are also cupcakes—at least most of the time.)

Action: You can now sign up to attend one or more stops on the 100startup.com site. Our initial calendar includes the following cities:

MAY

8 New York City
9 Boston
10 Washington
11 Arlington
14 Chapel Hill
15 Atlanta
16 Miami
17 Houston 
18 Denver
19 Boulder
21 Milwaukee
22 Columbus

25 London, UK

29 Santa Cruz
30 San Francisco
31 Los Angeles

JUNE

2 Phoenix
4 Seattle
6 Portland

18 Toronto
20 Calgary
21 Vancouver

I would LOVE to see you somewhere. If you’ll be near one of these places, please sign up! (And yes, we’ll be adding more cities later based on demand and availability.)

The Giveaway — Win a Free Early Version of The $100 Startup

We’re sending a number of review copies of the book out to various media outlets, but I’ve also set aside a number of copies for our readers. If you’ve been a part of AONC for a while and agree with our message, I’d love to send one to you.

Would you like to receive an early copy? Post a comment here, letting us know why you want one and what you’ll do to help us promote in May.

What you get: your own advance copy of The $100 Startup, currently on media embargo and not available to the public until May 8—but you’ll get it at least two weeks in advance.

What we need: if we send you one of the early copies, we’d greatly appreciate your help in getting the word out about the book after May 8. When the books go out, we’ll explain more about how you can help.

***

Coming next: After a long trip to Sudan and Turkmenistan, I’m now home in Portland and working full-time to prepare for the book launch in just 37 days.

On April 16 we’ll launch a pre-order “book sale” where I’ll be fully introducing the book and offering a number of bonuses for early orders. We’ll also be publishing the book trailer and introducing many of the people from the book.

Things are on track! I hope to see you on the road, and if you want to be part of the behind-the-scenes effort, post a comment here.

***

Update: Thanks, everyone! Our biased judges and feline assistant have emailed 100 winners. Everyone else, I appreciate your support too and hope to see you on tour.

###

*More book photos over here, thanks to Tera Wages.

I often think in airport codes, and I know at least a couple hundred of them by memory. Name an airport, even a fairly obscure one, and there’s a good chance I know its shorthand.

But even I was stumped when it came to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Until a few years ago when I had racked up my first hundred countries, I wasn’t even sure where Turkmenistan was.

Answers: Turkmenistan is in Central Asia, bordered by Iran, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and the Caspian Sea. The airport code is ASB, for the two people out there who are curious.

Getting to Ashgabat required a long journey from Los Angeles to Istanbul, via one-night stopover in London. Two days after beginning my journey from LAX, I walked outside in Ashgabat and stared up at the sky. First impression: there’s a lot of space here. The buildings are huge. The roads are enormously wide.

The previous week I drove from Dallas to Austin and then back again on the way to the SXSW Interactive festival. Looking at the wide open skyline in Ashgabat reminded me of Texas. You know what they say—everything’s bigger in Turkmenistan.

***

Turkmenistan is a fairly difficult country for Westerners to enter. To get there I had to have a sponsor, which means I had to pay $500. Technically, all I needed was a letter of invitation, but the travel agencies that facilitate western visitors are smart enough to bundle their services. It’s not possible to purchase only a letter; you have to book a hotel stay, airport transfers, and at least some kind of tour through the agency. The other quote I received was $1450, so I decided that $500 was better.

A guide is required to accompany visitors to most places in the country, so I was dutifully ferried around. For some reason my guide called me Alexander for the whole visit. “Let me tell you brief Turkmen history, Alexander.” We drove along and he pointed out the sights. “Over here is Chinese Petroleum Company. Over there is presidential palace, Alexander.”

As part of my tour I went to the national museum. Only museum employees are allowed to escort foreign visitors, so my guide had to wait outside while another guide showed me around. This guide was a 19-year old woman, fresh out of guide school and very nervous. Her English vocabulary was immense, or so I thought at first.

In rapid-fire sentences I heard all about the metallurgic age, the goddess of fertility, and something called an emblem of consciousness. This was all in the first exhibit.

I could hardly keep up, but it was all rote learning, with words and phrases strung together from a textbook. “Wow, you have to memorize a lot!” I said, as she looked at me blankly. “Here is the dynastic contribution from the pre-revolutionary era of neutrality… Some say it was modeled on an Athenian vision of intellect.”

***

I started sleeping in three-hour shifts. One shift on the red-eye from Istanbul. One shift upon arrival at the hotel. One shift that night before rising at 5am. It wasn’t sustainable, but I did the best I could until it finally caught up to me on my second night in Ashgabat. At 6pm I drank a cup of Nescafe in a fight to stay awake, then promptly fell asleep for six hours. I woke up after midnight with nothing to do but wander downstairs and attempt to work.

Access to Twitter and Facebook is blocked in Turkmenistan, although Turkmenistan Airlines apparently has a page that can only be accessed outside the country. The Guardian and other news sites are also blocked. Unlike parts of China and the U.S. government’s computers in Afghanistan, however, I was pleased to see that The Art of Non-Conformity loaded up with no problems. I cleared my emails and worked on plans for the upcoming book tour.

Next I’m heading to Dubai and then Sudan. After several previous attempts, I now have an airport entry permit that will allow me to get the visa upon arrival in Khartoum. I’m psyched.

My sleep schedule never got corrected, but I packed up, said goodbye to my guides (“Have a nice trip, Alexander”) and prepared to return to Istanbul and beyond.

Onwards.

###

*The ambassador application for the 2012 World Domination Summit is now open! If you live in Portland, you can now volunteer to help with the event for our 1,000 global attendees.

Image: RTC

Greetings from Austin, Texas.

Later today I’ll be presenting the first public debut of The $100 Startup here at the SXSW Interactive Festival. If you’re around, drop by Convention Center Ballroom G at 5pm local time.

Afterwards, I’ll be signing my first book and giving away a few galleys of the new one.

First thing tomorrow, I’m heading back to Dallas and beyond for my last overseas trip of the spring. I’ll be going to Turkmenistan (definitely) and Sudan (hopefully).

Numerous earlier attempts at arranging a visa for Sudan have failed, despite the efforts of many helpful friends and readers. My latest contact promises that all is well this time, so I’m taking his word for it and flying to Dubai.

To get to Turkmenistan, I’ll travel through London and Istanbul. I booked a round-trip award on Turkish Airways to Ashgabat, where a contact has arranged a tour for me. Assuming all goes well, I’ll get to Sudan on FlyDubai, a budget carrier based in the Emirates.

In some countries, you can’t visit as an outsider without a good reason—so for both Turkmenistan and Sudan, I’m working with a local sponsor who is then responsible for me while I’m in the country. Having a sponsor can also be good for helping with logistics in case something goes wrong.

After this trip, I won’t have any international trips for at least two months, maybe longer. The upcoming book launch will keep me busy for all of April, and then in May I’ll hit the road in the U.S. and Canada to meet readers in at least twenty-five cities.

Only 10 Countries Left! Who’s Coming to Norway in 2013?

I went to Nauru, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands on last month’s trip through the South Pacific, an adventure that took me from 13 countries to only 10. Yep, I’m almost in single digits… and if all goes well this week, I’ll officially make the drop.

I still have a few countries that I’m worried about, but much to my surprise, it’s all going fairly well. As long as the good luck continues, in April 2013 I’ll be visiting Norway for my final country.

I’ve heard from a lot of people who want to come along, and I suspect we’ll have at least one big party. If anyone wants to plan to be in Oslo around April 5-10 next year, you’re welcome to join me.

I also plan to get my first tattoo to observe the occasion (some kind of map or globe), but you don’t have to join me in that.

OK—I’m off to have some breakfast tacos, then I’m off to prepare for my talk, and then I’m off to see the world.

###

Image: ZCopley

People will take over your life if you let them. How do they do it?

Step 1: They begin by taking over your time.

“This will only take a minute…”

“Can we have a quick call to discuss…”

“We’d like to get your input on…”

When they send a message in one place to say they’ve left a message for you in another place, you know you’re really in trouble. Watch out!

Step 2: They continue by asserting their priorities over yours.

“We need this done right away.”

“This is really urgent.”

One hour after asking for something: “Have you had a chance to look at that yet?”

(Note: Do not mistake urgent for important. Also refer to: Your lack of planning is not my emergency.)

Step 3: They assume they know better than you do.

“Let me give you some free advice.”

“I know just what you should do.”

“This will be a win-win for both of us.”

(Note: Most of the time when someone says something will help you, what they mean is “This will help me, but let’s pretend it helps you too.”)

Step 4: When you decline to give in to the demands, they’ll attempt to make you feel bad.

“I’m not sure why you’d say no to this great opportunity.”

“I really need your help to ensure this project succeeds.”

“Can we talk about why you don’t feel this is a good fit?”

***

Sometimes, we let people take over our lives by entrusting judgment to them. We assume that other people know better than we do. We assume that other people’s priorities are more important than ours.

The answer is to stop believing these things and to start building a tower.

You begin by deciding for yourself what success looks like. Set your own rules. Be clear on what you want and how you’re going to get it.

You continue by defining the terms of engagement. If 9 out of 10 voicemails are a waste of time, why bother listening at all? If you know the meeting will be unproductive, why attend? If you don’t want to be distracted by social media, don’t log in.

Here are five powerful words you can use to regain control: “Sorry, I’m not available right now.”

Has this happened to you? Tell us here.

###

Also see: Things They Have No Right To Tell You
Also see: Who You Are and What They Say

When I boarded the flight to Nauru, I felt like I was going into exile.

The airline that flies to Nauru is called “Our Airline,” which could go down as the most comical airline name I’ve ever heard. (Runner up: “Jubbah Airways” in Somalia.)

I had previously been informed by my visa service that no visa is required to visit Nauru. Unfortunately, that fact turned out to be untrue—pretty much everyone going to Nauru needs a visa. After an earlier failure, I regrouped and made another attempt last week. This time, the visit was successful.

Upon searching for information on Nauru, I didn’t find much. One article that promised to share tips about Nauru “off the beaten path” received this comment from another reader:

“Please! You’re in Nauru… everything is off the beaten path.”

And she was right. There really isn’t much of a path on Nauru, aside from the single Ring Road that goes around the entire island.

I thought about running the course of the entire island (19 kilometers, or just under 12 miles) but was concerned about the heat. During my three-day visit, it never cooled off and the humidity was 75% or higher for much of the day. Attempting to run the distance of almost a half-marathon in such weather wasn’t the best idea, at least for me.

On my second day, however, I had to go to the immigration office to reclaim my passport. For some reason visitors receive their stamps upon arrival, but are then required to report to the actual immigration office a day or two later. It’s not like there was much to do, so I didn’t mind the errand.

En route to the office, we passed by the tiny airport. I noticed that the bus driver drove all the way around the runway, which was protected by a short fence that appeared to be fairly run down. I also recalled that there are only two flights a week—the one I came in on, and the one I’d be leaving on. Hmmm.

After being reunited with my passport, the afternoon began with lunch that consisted of Lipton tea and an entire package of cookies from the small convenience store adjacent to the hotel. The clerk who ran the shop was from China and spoke no more English than I did Chinese. “How are you?” I asked, and he gave me a confused look, watching me like a shoplifter as I perused the limited shelves.

Lunch was followed by productive activities including an extended nap and an attempt at sink-laundry (Protip: it’s all about the drying). Before sunset I changed into as few clothes as possible and ran back along the road to the runway. I didn’t listen to music, but I took my phone with me to take a few photos along the way.

I felt appropriately emboldened as I snuck over the fence, and wondered if I could make it the entire length of the runway and back. First lesson: even on Nauru, runways are LONG. Especially with the 75% humidity, this would not be a sprint.

I set off down the runway and ran ambled down toward the airport itself. I didn’t run around the whole island, but I ran for almost an hour, back and forth. Along the way I thought about the strange life I have that brings me to strange places like Nauru.

***

Lately I’ve been considering two truths about my adventures. The first is that I’ve known for a while that I’m getting tired. Traveling for a decade, especially with a 20-country-per-year pace over the past five years, is catching up to me. I have less energy and less patience.

I’m not tired of travel per se. I just look forward to traveling with less of an agenda, taking more time in some places and avoiding other places entirely. It will be good to move on when the time comes.

At the same time, I’ve also been aware that I need to hold tightly to this time, since I’m not sure what comes next. The quest has given me a clear goal to focus on for the past five years. I do more than just travel, but the travel is a big part of my identity.

I remember when I went to Easter Island in 2009. At the time, I couldn’t think of a more remote place in the world—but I just didn’t know much about places like Nauru, which is far more remote.

That’s why I try to take the time to appreciate wherever I am, to not let it pass me by without being aware of the magic. I’ll return to the South Pacific again, perhaps many times. But I highly doubt I’ll ever return to this remote runway, which doubles as an airfield and jogging track.

“See you tomorrow,” I said to the servers each night at my hotel. On my last night there, I said it again out of habit. As I left the restaurant, I realized the truth: I would probably never see them again.

###

*Big news! The $100 Startup is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com and all local bookstores. (I’ll share more info about the book in a full post soon.)

Image: Carmine

I said I was heading to the airport, and someone said they hate flying because of the TSA. “I just can’t stand to travel anymore!”

I said I was passing through LAX, and someone else said, “Ugh, LAX. What a mess.”

It’s OK, I told them, I have a one-night layover in the city before moving on to Asia.

“My sister lives there,” I heard, “and I don’t know how she stands it. The traffic is terrible!”

***

Gosh, flying is such a pain. You have to take your shoes off to go through security! Sometimes there’s even a queue to stand in. We should all give up and hand in our passports—it’s just not worth it anymore.

And yeah, Los Angeles is awful. All that 80 degree weather in February and all those beautiful people walking around. That Hollywood feeling that you could be anyone you wanted and achieve anything you dreamed of—so overrated. I told the aspiring actor who made my coffee that he should go back to the midwest.

Comfort zones are comfortable. But since I spend zero hours commuting to work at home, I wasn’t too worried about a long wait with traffic backed up on Santa Monica Boulevard.

I had my layover two streets over on Sunset. A union protest on the sidewalk greeted my arrival, with lots of marching and slogan-chanting, but happily it was also free wine hour inside.

After free wine and a power email session, I went to a diner and had a flashback. Fourteen months ago I sat at the same booth during the final stretch of the Unconventional Book Tour. That night I was with good friends at a tiny bookstore with a crowded house, then at the best afterparty of the whole tour, and finally at the diner for omelets and ice water long after midnight.

Mostly I like looking forward, but once in a while it’s nice to look back.

I paid the bill and walked back to the hotel. It was just 9pm, but I had a cup of herbal tea in my room instead of a rooftop pool drink. Old age setting in? Perhaps not just yet—I was flying to Tokyo in the morning, and wanted to get some rest in before changing eight time zones.

The next morning I enjoyed a nice breakfast (“Another dry cappuccino, sir?” Travel is so difficult!) and hopped a cab to LAX. Security wasn’t bad at all, and before I knew it… it was time to see the world again.

###

Image: Andy

In JFK I got on the 16-hour Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. It was 3pm in the New York afternoon, and 3am in HKG—exactly halfway around the world.

The Boeing 777 took off, I had lunch, and I took a short nap.

I always set my watch to the destination time when boarding a flight, so it was now sunrise in Hong Kong… with 13 hours to go. What’s next?

I like long flights, but this was pushing it even for me. I had the whole day set out before me, with nowhere to go and nothing much to do except what I made for myself.

I ordered coffee and sparkling water, then set up shop and got to work on a series of tasks. By the time I arrived in Asia, I hoped to:

*Draft a blog post
*Draft a newspaper column
*Revive my desperate-action-needed Inbox from 300 to 75
*Review an upcoming writing project
*Decide on a business strategy for another upcoming project

I got down to work on these tasks and found fulfillment as I go through the list. I also watched half of a movie, which is all I can usually handle, and caught up on an important game of Kingdom Rush on my iPad.

The day in North America faded away as we began our flight across the Pacific, chasing the sun. The day in Asia went by and the sun finally disappeared outside my window.

Did I use this time well? Did I feel alive, and did I do something that mattered?

I remember watching the entire day unfold like this in other parts of the word. I remember the long bus rides through Africa that stretched out over hours that seem endless.

Sure, there are some obvious differences between African buses and Cathay Pacific Business Class. But there is so much similarity too. In either mode of transport, you wait. You keep waiting. And you wait some more.

One time I rode the bus through the night and into the next morning. The day after, the same disorienting feeling: another day passes by outside the window. We change borders and there’s a new stamp in my passport, but the world looks the same.

I feel this way on ferries, on trains, on long drives through the U.S. Always getting closer to something while putting distance behind something else.

But really, what is life but to love and to create? And to keep moving along, always choosing forward motion and never backtracking.

***

I staggered off the plane at 8pm local time. I still had another flight ahead of me, a three-hour hop to Bangkok, but first I sat on the floor of HKG airport and logged on to the world. Greetings, everyone.

My outbound messages lept into space and a flock of new ones swooped in, the yin-yang of email management.

When I walked to the lounge and prepared to board the flight, I was already moving on. Time to think about the next stop, the next project, the next level of the tower.

What are you working on over there?

###

Image: Paul

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had created a page on the site that lists current airline mileage credit card bonuses. With just a couple of new cards, you can earn 100,000 miles or more—and then book round-trip plane tickets all over the world.

Much to my surprise, card bonuses have continued to get better and better over the past couple of years. It’s never been easier to earn a large stash of points or miles that you can quickly convert to plane tickets and hotel stays.

I’ve now created a whole minisite to serve as a free resource for those who are interested. We’ll keep this site updated with current offers and more detailed information on how you can take advantage of mileage earning for years to come.

—>Check out CardsforTravel.com here

***

Questions and Attempted Answers

Since posting the link to the initial page, I’ve received a ton of questions about how airline credit card bonuses work. Here are the most frequently asked ones, along with the answers. If you ever need help with specific recommendations, you can email me as well.

Q. How do you manage multiple credit cards responsibly?

A. Credit cards are a great way to maximize mileage, but must be handled with care. Apply for the best offers, keep track of the cards you have and be sure to meet any required minimum spending so you get your miles or points. The best way to manage multiple cards is to be sure you can pay off the balance each month. If you’re trying to get out of credit card debt, this probably isn’t the best way for you to get miles.

Q. I can only get 1-2 cards. Which should I get?

A. Different cards work better for different people, but long story short, my new favorite is the Chase Sapphire card. It offers a mega-bonus of 50,000 points which can be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners (including United/Continental and Hyatt), no foreign transaction fees, and the annual fee is waived for year one.

I also like the AA Citi cards and have been getting them for years on a 90-day cycle, reapplying after I’ve fulfilled the requirements for one card, getting the bonus, and then moving on to another.

Q. Do you cancel the cards after a year, when the annual fee comes due?

A. I usually keep them for a year, then see what happens. Sometimes I call up and say I want to cancel and they waive the fee. Other times, they shift the card into a no-fee version (which doesn’t earn as many points, but I don’t care since I’m not actively using it then).

On a couple of occasions, I’ve kept the card and paid the fee if I’m still using it frequently.

Q. Can I get a business card without a business?

A. Yes. One of the easiest ways to double your points bonus is to get both a personal and business card from the same issuer. For example, you can get the Chase Sapphire card mentioned above and receive a 50,000 point bonus—and you can also get the Chase Ink Bold card and receive an additional 50,000 points. The same strategy holds with the Starwood Preferred Guest Business card.

Similarly, you can get an AA card from Citi for a 30,000 mile bonus, and also add the AA Hilton version for an additional 40,000 Hilton hotel points. If you have a willing spouse or partner, they can do their own applications—so as you can imagine, the bonuses add up very quickly.

Q. I was declined. What should I do?

A. Sometimes a decline is not really a decline. All of the systems are automated, and the odds are at least 50% that you can get it approved if you call in to request a manual review. When you receive a letter stating that you’re declined, there is sometimes a number listed for questions.

For Chase cards, the reconsideration line is 888-245-0625. Call this number and say that you’re eager to get the new card(s) because of the great benefits. The representative will ask you a number of questions, then let you know if they can make it work. As mentioned, at least 50% of the time, this strategy will work as long as your credit score meets their minimum standard.

Q: What about cards for outside the U.S.?

A. There are some, but not many. In Canada we recommend the AmEx Business Gold card, which includes a 25,000 point bonus after completing an initial spend of $3,000, and the AmEx Starwood cards (two versions) which each offer 10,000 Welcome Bonus Starpoints after you charge $1,000 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership. If we find more for Canada or other countries, we’ll add them to the list.

***

I know that not everyone is able to do multiple card applications, and if you’re outside North America, your options are limited. But for those who are able, don’t ignore this possibility—you can get a lot of miles very quickly, and put the miles to good use in seeing the world for nearly free.

Here’s the link again:

–>Airline Credit Cards with Mileage Bonuses

Based on your input, I’ll be updating this minisite a bit over the next couple of weeks. If anyone has any other questions in the meantime, I’m happy to help.

Happy travels,

Disclosure: I receive referral bonuses on some of these cards. I only recommend cards I use myself, and you don’t need to use the links on that page if you don’t want to.

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Image: Ztephen

*World Domination Summit: Final Ticket Sales*

Earlier this morning we opened the final wave of ticket sales for WDS 2012. We sold out all 400 remaining tickets immediately (well, in 9 minutes), but due to various transaction errors, about 80 tickets were put back in the queue.

These tickets are now available on a first-come, first served basis here –>

#WDS2012 Registration

UPDATE: All tickets are now gone.

***

Here are a few answers to questions I’ve received:

Can you stream the event online for those who can’t come? No, sorry. I love the internet, but #WDS is all about being together in one place.

Do you have any scholarships? No, sorry. WDS costs less than almost any other weekend event, and we don’t make any money from it. In fact, last year I lost more than $25,000 on it—this isn’t about us making a profit, and it costs a lot to put everything together.

Can I be a speaker? Our main-stage speaking roles are finalized—not all are announced yet, but they’re all selected. All registered attendees are welcome to submit proposals for workshops and breakout sessions, which will be expanded this year. We’ll have a process for this after finalizing the registration.

Can I be a volunteer? We will indeed have a crew of “Ambassadors” to work during the weekend. These volunteers must be Portland-based, and we’ll have an application process in March 2012. (FYI, everyone on the action team that produces WDS is a volunteer too—no one is paid, including me.)

Happy Tuesday,

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